Divorce Inheritance law in the Dominican Republic

[mountainannie]

I found your website and found the information in it quite interesting. I
found it when searching on inheritance laws. I have a peculiar situation as
probably most people. I'm at a crossroad in my life and I need
some information before I proceed with any actions or make a final decision.

I have currently been married for 15 years with my Wife. Our marriage
has not been easy as most are not. I have been discovering little by little that
my wife has been hiding money from me. She has been sending money to her country
without my knowledge. Her father has just recently passed away about a month
ago. Since then I have found that she has never changed her maiden name to her
marriage name in her country like she has here. Here she is her married name and we do everything together financially under my last name. She has just open an
account in her country under her maiden name and included her mother in it.
When I ask her as to why she doesn't want to place her inheritance money in
our account she is telling me that she wants to freeze that money and not touch
it. I have always brought everything into our home and never divided or denied
her access to anything in all of our years together. This is not sitting well
with me. I also found out that she has a credit card account in her country in
her maiden name also. Which she lets her grandmother use.
Here we are, with the death of her father she is refusing to enter the money to our family account and is
living a double life in her country. She is refusing to close that credit card
account and will not add me to her accounts in Dominican Republic. She has
totally cut me off.
I'm afraid that she is setting up to leave me and take our children with her.
She has all the means to do it if she likes now. I have found out of her assets
in her country she has the capability to do it.

The question is that if she married here in the US 15 years ago, lives here for 18+ years has children, and mutual assets with me here in the US under her married name. Can she legally have assets in her maiden name in DR, if she legally change her name in the US? Also, if she inherated money and property in DR, if we get divorced here in the US can I go after that money and assets in DR that are part of that inheratence? Will DR recognize the divorce decree of her place of residence, where here inheratance is community property and can be divided equally no matter the source or origen? I have to mention that we recently remarried in DR also to celebrate our vows for her family members in DR that couldn't make it here to the US for the first wedding in the US?

from what Sr Guzman posted, you have a right to a portion of her inheritance.

it sounds as if you are perhaps trying to control all the finances so that she cannot leave you? I mean you are afraid that she will leave you now that she has the money. Right? So if the only thing that is holding her to you is the money, then the marriage is over.

 

[facelessdoll]

My cedula still says I'm single and a student, I don't plan on changing this, been married for 10 years, it's more of the hassle to go through the changing of the name, it's not as straighforward as in the US... also, we don't lose our last names, we simply add "de" and the husband's last name. Most of my married friends still have their cedulas with single status...

The marriage is still recognized, even if she didn't legally change her name.

 

[AlterEgo]

My cedula still says I'm single and a student, I don't plan on changing this, been married for 10 years, it's more of the hassle to go through the changing of the name, it's not as straighforward as in the US... also, we don't lose our last names, we simply add "de" and the husband's last name. Most of my married friends still have their cedulas with single status...

The marriage is still recognized, even if she didn't legally change her name.

Yup. Mr. AE and I have been married almost 38 years, and his cedula still says 'soltero' too. It's a pain in the butt to change, marriage papers from NY, and they need translation, etc., not worth the effort. It probably would have been easier back in 1976 to change it

 

[mainegal]

In the US inheritance money would only be hers alone if she put it into an account without your name on. Inherited money is automatically joint money if put into a mutual account.